Norway confirms its status as a world exception in 2021, with a market share of electric vehicles approaching 2/3. The 113,751 electric cars sold during the current year according to official figures represent 64.5% of the total of new cars sold to individuals. A world record in this country which began electrifying its fleet well before the rest of the world and which is pursuing it at a good pace.
The growth of electric cars is therefore dazzling between 2020 and 2021, with more than 48% of additional vehicles sold in one year. Next year, the market share of electric cars could exceed 80% according to forecasts by the OFV, the body which monitors the Norwegian automotive market. And if we add hybrid cars, the electrification market share is then close to 92%, which puts the country on track to reach 100% this year:
Norway could have 100% electrified car sales within 6 months
Compared to hybrids and fully electric cars, thermal models are only a drop in the bucket in Norway: around 4% for gasoline and as much for diesel. This is the consequence of a policy pursued for years by the government in favor of electricity. Battery-powered cars have almost no tax while those with a combustion engine are heavily taxed and there are many other advantages to driving electric, including free urban tolls.
Now that the transition is well underway, the government plans to reverse certain advantages, in particular by restoring VAT on the more expensive models. It must be said that the Norwegian car market broke a historic record this year with 176,276 cars sold to individuals, a level never reached before. It appears that sales of electrified models aren’t replacing thermals as much as they are adding new ones to the roads, which is probably not the goal.
In the meantime, it’s Tesla again who benefits the most from this growth electric cars. The American manufacturer has sold 20,397 vehicles, making it number one ahead of Volkswagen and Toyota, two heavyweights on the market in the country which had previously shared the first places. And it is not surprisingly the Model 3 which made most of the sales, with 12,058 units, which places it in first place ahead of Toyota’s RAV4, the Japanese manufacturer’s hybrid SUV.
In France, electric cars have remained below the 10% market share mark this year and the Model 3 has entered the top 10 for cars sold to individuals, but far from the top spots. However, the French car market is much larger than in Norway, so in terms of volume, Tesla has sold more in France.
Model 3 enters the top 10 best-selling cars in France in 2021
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